Between a rock and a hard place
by Mulder's Woman
Summary: Just added third chapter. Finally,  for me,  a real, old-fashioned X-file, maybe monster of the week, maybe mythology, who knows! Hopefully you can help to move it forward. Where do I go from here, guys? Rated T just in case!
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I want this to be a real X-file. Canon, in character, no AU, very little MSR (beyond what you would see in the show), no slash (well, come on, we all know how Frohike feels about Mulder), no smut (so sorry to my loyal smut readers), not just a one-off…..maybe some creature of the week or mythology….probably a longer-term project than what I'm used to writing. Please take a look and let me know what you think. I would really love some ideas from fanfic authors about how to continue.**

**As usual, I own nothing but the DVDs.**

**Between a rock and a hard place**

"It's just a rock, Mulder," said Scully, rolling the lumpy grey nugget around in her hand.

Mulder pursed his lips and glared at Scully. He reached out and grabbed the rock out of her hand.

"It's more than that, Scully," he murmured, mesmerized by the object in his hand. "It's much more than that."

Mulder slowly looked up at his partner, who had her arms crossed and was half perched on his desk. They remained silent for a moment. "Fine, I'm all ears; tell me about," she said, uncrossing her arms and grasping the edge of the desk.

Mulder didn't know where to begin. It was a Monday morning and he hadn't seen his partner since Friday, but it seemed so much longer than a mere couple of days. Scully had left a little early for her weekend and the phone rang just as he was heading out the door. He hesitated, his hand on the doorknob and his eyes on the phone. He was hungry. Maybe it was Scully inviting him over for pizza. He listened to it ring a couple more times before he slowly walked over and picked up the receiver.

"Mulder," he said curtly.

"Hey, big guy."

"Frohike, what the hell do you want? I was just heading out the door."

"Hey, hey, what's with the blasting in my ear, man? I was just calling to give you a tip."

Mulder paused and eyeballed the pencils sticking out of the ceiling for a moment. Sighing heavily, he said, "Sorry, Frohike, it's just that I was about to head home for my weekend ….. and was looking forward to watching a few new videos I just received in the mail …. in plain brown wrappers."

Mulder heard chuckling on the other end of the line. He realized Frohike was using speaker phone when he heard a couple of other snickers in the background.

"Well that sounds like a fun times, buddy, but I think we have something you'll find just as, ahhh, titillating," said Frohike.

"I really doubt that," Mulder drawled, "but let me have it."

Mulder heard muted mumblings and a small crash before Frohike spoke again. "Ah, geez, Mulder, I think you're gonna want to come over here. We've got something to show you."

Mulder picked up a pencil off his desk and propelled it toward the ceiling. He watched it strike awkwardly and tumble onto the floor behind his chair. He puffed out his cheeks and sighed again.

"Well, Frohike, I'll tell you what; you throw in pizza and you've got a deal."

"Excellent, Mulder. We'll see you soon then." Mulder heard a crackling click and then the dial tone.

"Great … Friday night at the geek club," he murmured, hanging up the phone.

Mulder headed back to the door and locked it as he left the office for the weekend. It was drizzly and chilly on the way to his car and he pulled his overcoat tight around him. He got into his car and sat behind the steering wheel for a few minutes, staring out into the gray Washington sky. Mulder reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He could just call the guys and say something came up … and then call Scully and see if she'd like him to bring over a pizza. There was still time to back out on the Gunmen. Three dorky guys versus his attractive partner. He stared at the phone, his finger poised over the speed dial button for Scully's cell.

"Shit," he spat, shaking his head and shoving the phone back into his pocket.

Mulder pulled out of the FBI parking lot and headed out to meet the Lone Gunmen.

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Off to Chapter 2….Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Between a rock and a hard place**

**Chapter 2**

Mulder knew the drill. He stood in the rain on the stoop of the Gunmen's lair and answered several incredibly lame questions before hearing the multitudinous clicks and clacks of various locking mechanisms sliding open. No sooner was the door opened than an elfin creature was hugging him … from the waist down.

"Okay, Frohike, down boy," said Mulder, lifting up his arms and wriggling out of the hug.

"Just happy to see ya, Mulder," Frohike beamed.

"Yeah, well, I could do with a little less enthusiasm."

Frohike stood back and admired his lanky friend. "Mulder, when you see what we've got, you're going to have more than a little enthusiasm."

"Melvin, for that kind of reaction, it'd better have sausage and mushrooms," Mulder deadpanned.

Frohike laughed and was just about to close all the locks when a neatly-dressed Byers arrived at the door with three pizza extra-large boxes stacked in his arms.

From the depths of the Gunmen's lair, Langley appeared with (mercifully, thought Mulder) an armful of beer bottles already opened. Mulder grabbed one and flopped down on a lumpy couch, still wearing his trench coat. Mulder seldom drank much, but he took a good long swig, half emptying the bottle.

Byers gave Mulder a look of concern as he set down the pizza boxes on the coffee table in front of Mulder.

"Ah, can I take your coat, Mulder," Byers asked cautiously.

"Yeah, why not," said Muler, wriggling out of it and handling it to Byers, wondering where in their office-slash-lab-slash-bedroom it might end up.

Mulder unstacked the pizza boxes and smiled when he actually did see a sausage and mushroom pizza. "Don't know if it's good or bad, but you guys really do love me, don't you," he grinned, glancing at the unlikely trio.

All four men settled in to a wonderful gorge-fest of pizza and beer. The Gunmen conversed enthusiastically about their latest edition of the "Magic Bullet Newsletter," having finally found absolutely irrefutable evidence of Mokèlé-mbèmbé, the legendary water-dwelling creature of the Congo River basin. Langley also boasted about the new and digitally enhanced version of the Zapruder film he had ordered from a source he couldn't reveal even to the Gunmen. Apparently, it contained the four missing frames that would reveal everything. The Gunmen were ecstatic about seeing it.

Mulder ate in silence and washed down his pizza with two more beers. He'd heard it all before. Perhaps the content was different, but he'd heard it all before. The Gunmen had proved indispensible in many of his cases; hell, he owed them his life many times over, but their tales did wear a bit thin at times.

The talk waned as the pizza boxes emptied. For a bunch of slim guys, they could put away a glut of food. Before they all settled into a food coma, Byers gathered up the leftovers and took them to the fridge – ample breakfast for the morning.

Mulder lounged on the sofa, no longer feeling its lumps, propping a beer between his thighs. He rested that way for several moments before really hearing it – silence. It was something he didn't often hear in the Gunmen's lair. He opened his eyes to find all three of them sitting in chairs, staring at him. Although Frohike had eaten his fair share, something about him still looked sort of hungry. The other two looked like they were holding back from pouncing.

Mulder stretched his arms and interlaced his fingers behind his head, looking from one Gunmen to another.

"Look, I don't know what you guys have planned, but I assure you that this really is a gun in my pocket and I'm really not just glad to see you."

The Gunmen looked at each other. They all started their characteristic high school giggle, which turned into an enthusiastic chortle.

"Ha ha, well Mulder, maybe we'll discuss that some other time," chuckled Frohike, "but for now we really do have something else to talk about."

Langley left for a moment and opened a cupboard under their microscope. He pulled something out and slowly walked back. He was carrying a small item covered in cotton fluff. He glanced at the other Gunmen, who nodded. Langley lowered the item to the coffee table and looked up at Mulder.

Mulder looked at Langley, then Byers, and finally Frohike. They were staring at the object on the table and had that same geeked out look they had when they had seen Esther Nairn – Invisigoth – for the first time.

"Okay," thought Mulder, "I've had just enough beer to face whatever the hell they think is so incredible."

Mulder leaned forward and pulled away the cotton fluff. He pulled out the object and held it in his right hand. He turned it over and bounced it a little. It was heavy, but considering what it was, that wasn't surprising. He examined it as long as he could without speaking – which was about ten seconds.

"It's a rock," he said. "It's just a rock."

He looked up at Frohike, who looked incredulous. He reached out and gently took it into his own hand, caressing it.

"No, Mulder, that's where you're wrong. It's not just a rock." He looked deeply into Mulder's eyes. "It's so much more than that."

XxXxXxXxXx

Okay, readers ….. what did you think? What would you like to see in Chapter 3?


	3. Chapter 3

**Between a rock and a hard place**

**Part 3**

Mulder put his feet on the coffee table, stretched back and looked at Frohike, who was still staring reverently at the rock in his hand.

Mulder pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, letting the moments of silence melt away. "Okay, tell me about it," he said softly.

Frohike looked up at Byers and Langley, who both nodded, before speaking to Mulder.

"Okay, so Mulder, lately I've been on this….ahhhh….fitness kick." Frohike quickly looked at all the men in the room to see if any of them were going to mock him, but if any of them saw the perfect opportunity for a jab, they all were holding it in check. As a geek and a short freak with an oblique physique, he'd been a target of bullying all his life and was always expecting the worst.

"I've been going for walks mostly. Actually, I've worked my way up to two hours a day. Pretty soon I'll rival you for best male body of the year, buddy." Frohike smiled a little. Nobody else even cracked a grin. Frohike decided these guys really must be on their best behavior.

"Anyway, earlier this week I decided to walk all the way down to the railway tracks by the water. That's the longest walk I've ever taken. It took me an hour and a half just to get there, but I just got in the groove, you know, and didn't want to stop."

Mulder smiled. "Yeah, I know what you mean, Frohike. Sometimes after jogging for a few miles, I feel like I could just go forever. It brings me to that happy spot in my brain that I usually forget exists when I'm sitting at my desk."

Frohike nodded and grinned.

"So I crossed over the tracks and saw this really steep dirt path heading down to the water. I started going down slow but my feet went out from under me and I slid on my ass, screaming like a girl all the way down."

So much for the good behavior. Byers and Langley started their characteristic giggle and Mulder was staring at his feet and biting on his lower lip to stop himself from joining them.

Frohike waited for the laughter to subside before continuing. "Well, I was feeling pretty good about how far I'd gone…even if I still haven't been able to get the ground-in dirt out of those cargo pants…and I sat there for a while just to relax and stare out at the water. I knew it was going to be a long walk home." Frohike stopped for a moment. "I guess I just didn't know how far it was really going to be."

"It was one of those sunny afternoons that was kinda cool, but it got really cold when a cloud blocked out the sun. I didn't mind. I'd worked up a bit of a sweat. It was a rocky beach, but I found a patch of grass to lie down. I guess I kind of drifted off. You know, like when you're sort of half asleep?"

Mulder nodded. "I do that at the office all the time. When Scully catches me, I just tell her I was deep in thought and she shouldn't have disturbed me. Don't think she buys it, though. She tells me people who are deep in thought don't usually snore. Who would have known," said Mulder, shrugging his shoulders.

Frohike laughed. "Yeah, well anyway, I was getting kind of hot, so I guess that woke me up and I looked at my watch. Two hours had passed, Mulder. I could have sworn it was only 15 or 20 minutes. And the other weird thing was feeling so hot. The sky had gotten overcast and the sun must have been well behind the slope of the hill by then. I wondered if I was sick, so I felt my forehead, but it was cool. There was this weird buzzing in my head, though, so I knew something was up. I figured I'd call the Gunmen and have them pick me up, so I reached into my jacket for my phone."

Frohike looked at Langley and Byers, and they nodded encouragingly.

"Mulder, when I touched my phone, it was hot. It dropped onto the grass. It looked just fine, but when I tried to pick it up again, it almost burned my hand. I figured that's where the buzzing sound was coming from – my phone – but when I stood up, it got even louder. And this thumping was accompanying the buzz. The sound was coming from behind me."

Frohike fondled the lumpy rock. "So, I turn around. I could see the track my ass left in the dirt on the slope. There were sticks and pebbles and stuff on either side of that ass track, Mulder. But about 10 feet up, there was something small and dark right in the middle of the track."

Frohike stopped talking for a moment, staring directly at Mulder.

"And," he hesitated, "and…it was moving."

Mulder took his feet off the coffee table and set them on the ratty carpet. He rested his arms on his legs and bent his body forward toward Frohike.

Okay…..where do I go from here?….what's up with the rock? Reviews and suggestions welcomed!


End file.
